Soda straw dispenser and the like



I P 5, 1950 j J. H. BUTLER SODA STRAW DISPENSER AND THE LIKE Filed July 26, 1947 V I /9 20 27 Zhwentor 23 JAMES H. BUTLER attorney ends of the dispensen'the other end broken away, taken substantially along is en 1 as well'asffor methods to disp which m'ayFinclude matches;"tooth-picks throat vslw a hb ii l g stick Iii suchj adispe'nser;

are provided so" that the'straw "orstickscan be" presented lonelat a time in! asariitar y'fmanner as long tee-tan djir r su h unreal counters an purer Qneof the. principal objects .of, this nven ion,

isito present sanitary dispensing device rdfprovid ing cieengstraws and/orfsticks' in single flots" l .n v a oe se nts osse i qsli nli em ei and mechanism havin a neat appearance and made ofs'uitable materials 'arrangedto give a sturdy construction and which 'canfformahee vice for long tlepei'idablese'rvice;-and which de-' vice is ggpnomical tomake and manufacture.

ntion will ppear; f m heta meaa i s e subj oined detailed description, the

draw ngsn h as: s if cat ns and e armed:

n sambls dcla m s I Applicant to and describe one of the forms or his iii'vention in order to teachahn how to makeaand 'use the same; but it is :ito be. understood that the drawings andidescription-th'ereof are not to limit the invention in any sense whatsoever except as specifically limited by the appended claims.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a rear elevational view of .a'soda fountain type of straw dispenser embodying the essential parts of a preferred form of the invention,

Figure 2 is an elevational view of one of the being substantially the same,

v Figure 3 is a vertical longitudinal sectionalview taken substantially alon line 33 of Figure 2, I s

Figure 4 is a cross sectional view taken sub- I stantially along line 44 of Figure 1,

Figure 5 is a horizontal sectional view, parts v line 5-5 of Figure 4, and I V g srmwn isrm P'i'rHs Ev r James H.- Butler HuntingtonjPark, -oa1i1:.---: v

v N ensir i g j's odai fountain; types: of s 'trawsiandsimilar "articles;

ii other 1 tg'pr 20 (Cl. 312M33 iiFigiire '6 is a front elevational view bi vice, but shown onareduc'ed'scale. p H The princip'al pa'rts of the housing for the dispenser include the two end closures and sup-.

port jm embers l and 2 and the lfousing' 3 vihi'cli is "i n' cylindrical form. This cylindrical housing" may be opaque,translucent, or transparent; and made entirely of metal or somesuitahle plastic or" some combination of the 'two. When-plastics arei'used; many bea'utiful' color combinations I canibefarranged antl'th' 'entiredevic'made've' T e dri s an fthelm 'n s11 ports for the entire-unit. These pieces are-'co 1-1.

figurated, as shown, and eachhas a v recessed" port on llf which i a nular in configuration and adaptedftofsnuglyreceive the ends of 'thecylin der and he cemented 'or' otherwisesecure'd there-f to. ."fThe 'fcy1i'nd'erj 3 i'sj'made of segmental partsindicatedat 5 and'fi, the part5 constitute,

;mo1ded integral with their respective cylindrical parts if so desired.

'. ligs arti ro, passes'fftiireueii sense m na g n ends i uitab le bearings 11 and, lzw'hich} w 9%: means I5, as shown. Fixed to the shaft, and

spaced from each other, and spaced from the ends of the shaft, there are the .pair of straw support arms or fingers l6; and between these arms there is another pair of straw support arms or fingers I! which are called lifts in order to distinguish them from the arms I6.

The bottom portion of the cylinder segment is made thicker as at [8 to provide the protruded shoulders I9. However, it is preferred to'make the shoulders I9 of individual pieces and cement or screw them into place as shown. When the fingers I6 are fully retracted in a clockwise position, their front faces are then flush with or slightly rearwardly of the front face of the a shoulders. I I v The cylinder is provided with an elongated slot 56 2|, out as shown, which is'a little longer than .ih's ll bwni'men b the and lof he e- Theshiiffil the straws to be dispensed. In alinement with the extreme ends of this egress slot on the inner sides of each support I and 2, there is a trackway or slideway element 22, each of which is provided at its forward end with a turned portion 23. These turned ends are designed to act as straw stops and conveniently support each straw, as dispensed, so that a, customer can easily grasp it and remove it.

Just above the, slot; there;- is;',an elongated; platform,- 24; which is providedwitli the cutaway portions or slots 25 and 26, the stop ends of which limit the upward movement of the fingers-i lor arms l6, note Fig. 5. This plattormiisspacedl. from the shoulder l9 so as to provide'an' elongated drop opening 2| which is justJetrge,e'I'lcnlg-l-Li0 freely drop therethrough any open: thestraws. v,

21, a straw 21 being shown in position, in dotted substantially parallel with the shaft, arm stop lines, ready for the arms 16 (in dotted linesyp to eject it through the under passage and out L hrough heslatzzl... Ansrr uitahle stop l ke-$1 pins l3 may be prcvidedtowlimit,the.,dowmvard, movement oi the levers: 15.. lt is-whileithear-ms arel,retracted,' or? the., lever inlla, idownwardwsufie cientlys r sseds e io l theta single strawsisl free to, fall; easily. into, the lower chamber. 2.1 ofstheldevicerand be ready forejection into the. il irdewaysdlz. when,.,the arms, I6; start. on their. e urn a-th i pe mo trnosition, shown. n Figu 1. tbetdrawinss-r. Thaarmsare eturned; o, bh,,11?.,.1 l ,i?Q iti 1 lwhenlther levers 15.. arafr eg that is, released by the operator. The means forr returningrthe atmsautomaticallyto:thein original pos i asgwell ,a'sthe 1evers ,is -th ;.sn ns tem 2 s I I shait is "providediwith extende'd'radia-llyidirectecr lti heuld mwbe ap ar t that anew 1111330 amemst w dispenser ,haShe n-provided'whic is e lsanitary, andl leaa der ce. and. which-, in all; respects, simple in constnuctioni butnneveizther, less, sturdy so, as to. iv vl ne, and; den ndab e erv ce-y 1 t i of, qoursehmiderstoodtha variouschanses nd mpd o lmay .bamade in theidetailsnif rmlstye. .desien v-a l q ucti nbtthe whole; or n p r f he lsne ifi lye. deseribemembodi: en ii th s, nr n ionwithout departin rom he piri l hsreci; ueliiichanses; and,,m dir1eaa be ns.,with n he cope' of"the1 ;rsuow l s laims- I'clairn: 50

. nraflsq a f u tain. straw d spenserland h kajeaidj" i n r'f ne u n yaho low housing with its ends closedfby, end" s1ipporting membars a chamber, in jthe1housing having cylindricar walls, a shaftrthrough the chamber supported by' the e'nd members; 1 extending arms on the-shaft" for supporting strawsa-loove the=-bottofn of the chamber-wan egressopeningalong a' bottom por tion of the chamber, arm stop means at the bottom of the chamber, cantilever means extending from just above the egress opening to just short of the stop means and thusproviding a straw drop opening, and a passage beneath the cantilever means connecting the drop opening with the egress opening.

2. In a dispenser device for straws, toothpicks, swabbing sticks and the like, the device including a hollow bruising; with: it ends1c1osed1-,by end supporting "members, t-h liousing providing a chamber having curved walls, a shaft extendin through the chamber and having its ends supnonteiby,theend,members, radial arms fixed to the shaft" andextending therefrom which sup- ,-.pOI't5f3-il31uIR1ityi of strawsabove the bottom of the chamber, an elongated egress opening along a lower portion of the chamber wall which is memberis provided'wvith 'aledgewhicl'i terminates into ,a, f 1-ward turned-up portion; the two ledges cooperatingj tosupport andguide each straw fromthe egress opening and'bringivto' restin' a spam? ning pgsitionn,

"4; [Th'e device re'citedflinclaim-2 wherein-the I capacity withingthechamber., 

